As Told To By: Andrea Cermanski, Kelly C. Frye, Duhon James, David A. Naranjo
Opening Reception, Saturday, April 11, 2026 | 4–7 PM
Gallery Hózhó at Hotel Chaco
A story is only as strong as the person telling it. Every narrative requires a narrator. Gallery Hózhó’s new exhibition, As Told To By, highlights the importance of the storyteller, someone who can capture an account in its entirety and shape it into a coherent form. Opening on April 11, 2026, the exhibition features work by New Mexico artists Andrea Cermanski, Kelly C. Frye, Duhon James, and David A. Naranjo, each of whom shares stories drawn from personal experience, culture, and community through painting and printmaking.
For this exhibition, Gallery Hózhó welcomes Andrea Cermanski, who has developed a distinct painting practice. She formulates her own paints by combining natural pigments with acrylic mediums; for example, she gathers and burns tumbleweeds to create a deep black pigment. She uses these materials to render abstracted landscapes that reflect the desert environment both visually and materially.
The long history of Pueblo architecture in New Mexico informs the paintings of Kelly C. Frye (Tesuque Pueblo). Through vivid color, expressive brushwork, and strong lines, Frye combines abstraction and representation to suggest the relationship between land and architecture, especially sites from the Ancestral Pueblo period such as Chaco Canyon, known for its distinctive windows and T-shaped doorways.
In his linocuts, Duhon James (Diné/Navajo) incorporates elements from his culture. A graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts, James (Water’s Edge Clan, born for the Bitter Water Clan) brings together motifs drawn from weaving patterns, hogans, corn plants, stars, and UFO imagery to symbolize the connection between the earthly and celestial realms. Through bold color and design, he suggests how the everyday and the spiritual exist in relation to one another.
Inspired by designs found on painted ceramics, embroidered clothing, and the landscape surrounding his home at Santa Clara Pueblo, David A. Naranjo’s paintings reflect generations of Pueblo life. Composed with balance and clarity, his work expresses the artist’s commitment to family and culture. Through symmetry and clean lines, Naranjo conveys the significance of the natural world within Pueblo history.
Together, these four artists demonstrate that stories are not only told but embodied. As Told To By invites viewers to consider whose voices shape a narrative and how materials become vessels of memory. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, April 11, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public. Join us to celebrate the artists and enjoy a glass of bubbly and light refreshments.
For more information, please visit www.galleryhozho.com or contact Gallery Hózhó at 505.306.2977 or info@galleryhozho.com.